Short Bus & Exploitation

Short Bus was a very exploitive film that dealt with all different types of sexual frustration and exploration, but was it sexploitation? It could easily go both ways depending on the viewer. Either way it is an interestingly realistic portrayal of sex in film. I hate sex scenes in most film, except maybe some select horror films, because it is very fake. All the cleverly shot romantic scenes make it look so artificial; in fact I find it easy to laugh at. In Short Bus, the sex was just down right believable. I would not be surprised at all if you were to tell me that many of the actors were truly having sex or engaged in a sexual relationship. So that brings out the big question, is it pornographic? In my opinion, it is not, but that does not mean it isn’t exploitation. Is a film like “I Spit on Your Grave” pornographic? Not at all, but it is still exploitation. Now there is still a particular type of person that may find either of these films pornographic and sexually arousing, but I don’t think either could appeal to the normal human being. Now just because something is sexually exploitive doesn’t make it wrong, just possibly inappropriate or offensive. I would not suggest Short Bus to children, or those sexually embarrassed or repressed. Short Bus could be very enjoyable and enlightening for the correct audience though. One aspect I really enjoyed is that it has something to exploit everyone’s sexual interests. There is a character for just about every sex act or sexual orientation you could think of, which makes it all the more exploitive. As I stated before though, there still is some substance here along with deep characters rich in conflict. Short Bus may not be sexploitation in the classic Russ Meyer sense, but there’s a little something to offend everyone.